random apocrypha

This weekend I learnt not to trust Ambulance and Hospital staff with my medication. I was admitted on Saturday morning early with chest pains (being of that age 🙁 with a family history) and the Ambos must have taken my blood pressure and cholesterol tablets. That was either for easy referral to by hospital staff, or in case I needed… Read more →

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This year I ended up riding alone. Danya had been sick for most of the previous week and also ended up with a scheduling conflict – a good friend’s wedding on the Saturday that was on the mid-north coast. He donated extra money to my fund-raising campaign instead of riding. Since Danya wasn’t coming along I though I’d try and… Read more →

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Once again, my brother and I are riding the 90km from Sydney to Wollongong for charity. As always, this event is to raise money for the MS Society, helping fund research and to provide care for people suffering multiple sclerosis. I would very much appreciate any donations (everything over $2 is tax deductible) and you can do that here. If… Read more →

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The 2015 Gong Ride is on Sunday November 1, and Danya and I are once again registered as Team Rose. As always, we’re raising money for the MS Society to support research into Multiple Sclerosis and to provide care for those with the disease. Given that I’ve had a slow winter after my adventure earlier in the year I’m not… Read more →

So true. The man’s, at the very least, a technological idiot. Almost certainly a complete idiot! Originally shared by +Ben Short More moronic policy thought bubbles from the Australian Government. Telcos draw the line at latest national security laws A battle is brewing between telecommunications companies and the Government over further national security laws.

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Looking back on the ride, I’m very satisfied with the outcome. I rode 880km over 12 days – 65 and a half hours – and felt quite capable of continuing. My schedule of 3 day’s riding, a rest day, 4 day’s riding, a rest day and a final 3 day’s riding worked perfectly. However, that depended on a routine of… Read more →

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Final day! Today was another start just after 7am. I had a good run into Lismore (the usual crawl past Parrots Nest), and got there by 8:30. After a meusli bar, I continued though to Bexhill and then onto Clunes, where I stopped for lunch just after 10. The climb up from the railway line to the ridge-top after Bexhill… Read more →

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Today was another good day. My average speed was over 18km/h which is something I haven’t done since I first started riding this route in 2007, and certainly not with such a load. I woke up slightly early and was on the road by 6:40, and could soon tell I was setting a decent pace, settling into a slow but… Read more →

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Today was a good day. I’d mostly packed last night, with only the toiletries and tablet to go into a front pannier. By about 6:45, I was on the road although I’m not exactly sure since the GPS didn’t start recording when I thought it should have. At about 4km I realised and started recording just before I started the… Read more →

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It’s been a day of spills and breakages, so far. I went down the road for breakfast (French toast with maple syrup, bacon and banana) and managed to spill coffee on my t-shirt. Then I came back to the motel and changed, washing out the old shirt, and then went for a walk to the bike shop to get some… Read more →

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Yesterday, I was discussing the route with the motel owner and he told me that there was a bike path from Macksville to Nambucca that started from the north side of the bridge. Since I assume that, as a local, he must have some local knowledge, I rode along the river foreshore after crossing the bridge (which has to be… Read more →

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Today I started a bit later than previously. The car ferry across the Hastings River only starts running at 8am on a Sunday. Mind you, I still woke at the same time, but just took my time over breakfast and packing. I rode up to Settlement Point and was waiting when another touring cyclist turned up. He wasn’t as heavily… Read more →

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Today was wet. As mentioned in the previous day’s entry, it started raining late yesterday afternoon. The GPS wanted to direct me via Lawrence but that would have added an extra 40km to the length of the trip so I disregarded the instructions and kept riding along the main road through Cundletown to the freeway. There was a really bad… Read more →

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I left just before 7am. It was good weather for riding – overcast and not too hot (mid-20’s all day). By about 10, I arrived in Krambach and found that there’s now a cafe in town. There was one family there already and more people turned up during the time I was there – decent traffic for a very small… Read more →

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I woke up reasonably late today (7:30) and went down the street for breakfast. Then I came back and did some laundry in the motel washer and dryer. Basically I spent the day catching up on twitter and email, and updating my ride data online. Around midday, I went back into town for lunch (another bacon and egg roll –… Read more →

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Today started well – up and out the door by 6:30 and into the motel breakfast room for a buffet breakfast, leaving by 7am. It was still dark out and I was thankful for having lights. I hadn’t been sure of my direction as all roads led in a bit of an arc, but I had decided last night that… Read more →

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Today started out overcast with patches of blue sky, but I decided to wear my rain gear anyway. That was a good decision as it bucketed down as I reached The Entrance. My legs were a bit sore and I was feeling a bit sorry for myself as I rode through the wet to the Munmorah state recreation area but… Read more →

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I got up this morning at 6 after a bit of a restless night – last minute nerves. Instead of the puzzle books I had packed last night, I repacked a book (Cosmicomics by Italo Calvino) as I recalled that I had various games on the tablet I could play. By about 7, I was on the road. The weather… Read more →

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I arrived yesterday and am in the middle of uploading photos to Flicker. This post is a summary and I’ll follow up with posts for individual days afterwards as I transcribe the diary I kept along the route. Basically I rode 881km over 12 days – with 2 rest days – through the central coast to Dungog and Gloucester; via… Read more →

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That’s the title of the International Womens Day event at the Sydney Opera House, that I attended. It comprised several panels covering a range of issues and there was more than I could find time to attend at overlapping events. In the end, I decided on three: How to be a Feminist, chaired by Geraldine Doogue and 6 panellists (Update:… Read more →